As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to these users is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may vary with respect to the type of information handled; the methods for handling the information; the methods for processing, storing or communicating the information; the amount of information processed, stored, or communicated; and the speed and efficiency with which the information is processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include or comprise a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems (e.g., servers) are commonly designed for mounting in racks. Data centers typically require numerous racks populated with many information handling systems to provide the necessary computing power. The most common type of information handling system to be included in a data center is a standard 19-inch wide server, which is widely available and generally interchangeable across brands. The height of the standard 19-inch wide server depends on the server design, but is measured in terms of rack units, or “U”, where one U is approximately 1.75 inches. The standard 19-inch servers are typically housed in standard racks, which generally include a box-like frame in which the standard servers are mounted horizontally in a vertically stacked arrangement. The equipment capacity of a standard rack thus depends on the height of the rack, and standard racks typically hold 42 U worth of standard 19-inch servers.
Standard racks are beneficial because they are widely available. One problem with standard racks, however, is that they have a fixed structure, which fixes the footprint and the capacity of the rack. This is particularly problematic where space and computing density are primary concerns, such as in a containerized data center, which is typically constructed in a shipping container. For example, fully populating a containerized data centers with standard racks may not provide the necessary computing density, and standard racks cannot be optimized to increase the density. Additionally, the structure of the standard rack generally cannot be optimized for design concerns prevalent in a containerized data center, where space is at a premium, such as how to integrate the rack within a containerized data center and how to account for the power and cooling needs of the information handling systems within the rack.